


Making it Work

by SalmonCenter



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Hysterectomy, Infertility, Romance, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:21:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26071828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalmonCenter/pseuds/SalmonCenter
Summary: Years of isolation prove to be good for self-reflection.  Bruce learns a lot about himself in Kolata, mainly that he doesn’t need physical intimacy to be fulfilled.But they make it work.
Relationships: Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 4
Kudos: 27





	Making it Work

Bruce has never been a particularly, well, _unfocused_ man. His excuse is being busy, having been in school and then preoccupied with his research. He was a typical teenager, overly concerned with the opposite sex, but also completely focused on himself. That phase passed as quickly as it came, and he fell back into his love for learning.

Betty wasn’t just his girlfriend. She was his partner, his better half. They were best friends, not just romantically intertwined. They kept each other grounded but still flew away late at night. It didn’t matter that General Ross disliked him. They still stayed late at the lab and kissed like giddy teenagers when no one was around. 

Seeing Betty in a hospital bed is almost enough to break him. Knowing that she will recover keeps him going. 

Later, his excuse is stress. The timing is never right, and he’s more than often exhausted after an _event_. It’s only months into his exile that he has a moment of reprieve and even considers touching himself, but the thought is immediately discarded when his heart rate jumps. Beyond that, Bruce doesn’t have time to think about sex, so he doesn’t. 

Betty is as amazing as ever, if not a little bit careless. She fits into the group of people who think that the Other Guy isn’t so dangerous, and it shows. It’s nice to act like a normal person for once, but it only serves to remind him that he isn’t normal. Her casual touches leave Bruce on edge. The only person who seems to understand how bad his situation wants to kill him, and that’s not great either. He can’t bring himself to leave so the Other Guy makes the decision for him.

Years of isolation prove to be good for self-reflection. Bruce learns a lot about himself in Kolata, mainly that he doesn’t need physical intimacy to be fulfilled. It would be a terrible thing to learn now, he muses, but it doesn’t seem so important to have romantic relationships when the risk is so incredibly enormous. That being said, knowledge is power, and that’s the excuse he gives himself after finally getting a sperm sample under his microscope. It’s not a surprise to him that nothing’s swimming. The real surprise is the readings from his spectrometer. 0.2103 The same as his blood. It’s dangerous, not lethal, but not an ideal substance to have anywhere near a uterus. Bruce laughs to himself. Getting the sample was difficult enough. Actual completion would be much, much harder. No pun intended. 

Natasha takes him seriously. She doesn’t play games with the Other Guy and that means a lot. There are no unexpected touches, nothing that could possibly be construed as stressful. Well, nothing she can control. It gets harder the closer they become. Natasha becomes more confident, and Bruce wants to give her more. God, does he want to give her more.

Slowly, she makes it clear that he does give her more. Bruce is a breath of fresh air, apparently. Different from all the rest. It’s awkward and slow, but they’re making it work. She even gets the Other Guy on her side, somehow. It takes months for then to stop flirting and a few more weeks to get further than dates. There are little issues here and there, moments when Bruce almost goes green, but he’s surprised to find that Natasha has her own issues. Not as destructive as his, but she’s a trained assassin. Definitely deadly.

They have an important talk about expectations in Barton’s house. It’s the only place they’ll ever get away from Tony’s ever-present cameras. Boundaries come up, too, and Natasha reveals that she’s sterile. Bruce feels empowered by her bravery and reveals his own shameful secret. She knows, of course. Natasha is brilliant and she’s not even remotely surprised that he has limits. They kiss that night and share a bed for nothing more than sleeping. It’s more than enough for Bruce.

Bruce keeps his watch on. It’s still programmed to alert him once it hits one-fifty, but he neither of them think it will get that far. It had taken a lot of discussions to get to this point. A lot of arguing, really. Bruce insisting that her pleasure is enough and Natasha insisting that it won’t be as good as he thinks. Finally, they reached a compromise, and here Bruce is. There’s more lube that he could ever need to accommodate her dryness. She’s unnaturally still, clearly uncomfortable and unused to being such an inactive participant during sex.

He uses his fingers, mainly, focusing on her clit rather than penetration. The thought of Natasha having penetrative sex makes him cringe, considering how unprepared her body is for it. His mouth finally ends up on her, licking and sucking gently while her hips jerk upwards. He lubes up his fingers and pressed against her opening, watching carefully for any signs of distress.

“Hurry it up, big guy.” Natasha sighs, draping her legs on his shoulders. Smooth, long legs. Bruce can’t help but turn his head to kiss her thigh, breathing in her scent. She raises an eyebrow. “How’re you doing?” It warms his heart that she asks.

“Great. This is - It’s great.” Bruce stutters against her inner thigh, easing the very tip of his index finger into her. Her head falls back and he can feel her clench around him. When she does, he presses his finger upward. “It’s easier than I thought it would be to stay- calm.”

It’s not that easy. He’s hard and getting amazing friction against his jeans. 106. 107. 108. Deep breath. 98. 95. 92. Bruce keeps an eye trained on his watch and another on Nat’s face. They’ve been at this for half an hour, now, but it only feels like a few minutes. Bruce glances down at Natasha’s flushed pelvis.

His mouth descends on her and he sucks her clit roughly, keeping his teeth away but being bold with his tongue. This pushes Natasha over the edge. Her legs shake and more wetness trails down Bruce’s chin. He strokes her through her orgasm, waiting until she touches his head gently to stop him.

Finally, Natasha tugs him up on the bed and lays her head against his chest, careful to keep her long legs away from his groin. They’re both basking in the afterglow of Nat’s orgasm.

“It worked.” Natasha muses, tracing her finger up and down the hem of his shirt. Her cheeks are tinged a beautiful red. “Was it as good for you as it was for me?”

“It was good,” Bruce confirms, letting his chin rest against the top of her head. “Not about the destination, and all that.” It’s not the greatest answer in the world, but Natasha seems to understand. Sex would be great, but these are the cards he’s been played.

At least one of the cards is really goddamn great. 

Tony can’t let it go when he finds out. All of a sudden he wants to discuss lead infused condoms and hulk-proof furniture. Bruce leaves the room when he starts asking for samples.


End file.
